


The Tatooinian

by astrandofthread



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Good Parent Han Solo, Innocent Luke, Mos Eisley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 21:07:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21416680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrandofthread/pseuds/astrandofthread
Summary: The Original Trilogy of Star Wars, as seen through the eyes of Mena, a young woman from Tatooine  who joins the crew of the Falcon in Mos Eisley.
Relationships: Luke Skywalker/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 9





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first shot at a Star Wars fic! This story is very close to my heart and I hope you enjoy it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mena meets the crew of the Millennium Falcon, along with a young farm boy and his eccentric chaperone.

Mena’s eyes cracked open, the coarse sand of Tatooine weighing down her eyelashes. She sat up in her cramped cot, stretching and glancing around for the dark cloak that had become akin to her uniform. She slid out of bed, tied the rough fabric around her shoulders, and strode out into the streets of Mos Eisley.

“You’re early,” Wuher grunted as Mena pushed through the doors of the cantina.

“Heat woke me up,” she replied. “Thought you could use the help.”

Wuher didn’t respond, but offered a slight half-smile in appreciation before returning his focus to the crowded bar. Mena took this as an invitation to get to work and picked up a rag. She squeezed between the cramped tables, smiling at the customers she knew and keeping a respectful distance from those she did not. She was leaning down to clean off an abandoned booth when a group of men in the corner of the cantina caught her eye. Among them was that pilot from Corellia, Solo, was it? The rambunctious Wookiee that always accompanied the pilot was at his side. Mena recognized the two regulars, but the sandy-haired boy and old man that were sitting with the duo were unfamiliar to her. She overheard a snippet of their conversation, something about passage to a nearby system, then realized her obvious eavesdropping, averted her eyes, and turned away. She wasn’t particularly interested in drawing attention to herself around such rowdy patrons.

… 

“He’s gotta be from the outskirts, just look at him!” Mena insisted, gesturing to the blond young man who was clearly out of place in the crowded cantina. His bronzed hands were fidgeting, and his bright green eyes were wide, glancing around at the armed thugs that filled the room. She almost felt bad for the kid, thrown into such a rough place. Sure, he seemed to be Mena’s age, but she had grown up in the slums of the spaceport. She’d been hardened. The newbie, on the other hand, was undoubtedly fresh meat to the patrons of her establishment. 

“Just take their order over, Mena. I’ve taught you better than to get personal with customers,” Wuher replied, handing her a tray of drinks and shooing her off to the corner where the men were sitting.

“...Plus fifteen more when we reach Alderaan,” the old man said to Solo as Mena approached. The conversation seemed to halt abruptly when Mena reached the table. She set down the four glasses in silence, then received a murmured “thank you” from the blond young man.

“My pleasure,” she smiled, collecting soiled cups from the table. She tried for a better look at the two newcomers. They both had striking light eyes, but didn’t seem to be related. The older man had a mellow, confident air about him. The boy, who seemed to be in his late teens, was still fidgeting, noticeably uncomfortable in the crowded hall. He reminded Mena of herself the first time she had entered the bar, looking for a job. Solo glanced up at her before continuing to the strangers.

“Okay, you guys got yourselves a ship. We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready, docking bay 94,” Solo said.

Mena turned to bring the old cups to the sink when she noticed a small group of Stormtroopers talking and pointing around the cantina.

“Excuse me, I hate to interrupt,” Mena said to the men. “But it looks like somebody’s beginning to take an interest in your handiwork.”

The group looked towards the entrance where the soldiers were gathered, and the old man and the blonde boy strode quietly out the exit, the latter glancing back and smiling at Mena with thanks. Solo discreetly tapped the table and gestured for Mena to stay. She raised her eyebrows but complied as the Stormtroopers made their way through the cantina. She fiddled with the glasses and tray, attempting to act natural while shielding Solo from the troopers’ line of vision. Apparently this worked, as the Stormtroopers passed by the trio with little to no suspicion. Solo thanked her for her warning and discretion, then rose to leave.

“Alderaan?” Mena asked quickly. Solo paused.

“The Alderaan system, yeah,” He cocked his head. “You won’t go spreading that destination around, now will you?”

“Oh, no. I just think you’re lucky to be able to up and leave this place like that.”

Solo nodded inexpressively and turned to go, but the Wookiee placed a hand on his shoulder and held him back, looking with concern upon Mena.

“What do you want from me, furball?” Solo hissed, then turned back to Mena with a sigh. “Guess you can’t get out of here, then?”

“Not on my own,” Mena replied. “But I’d kill for the chance.”

Solo raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah? And what would anybody gain from helping you?”

“An extra hand that knows her way around a Corellian ship.” She paused. “And the satisfaction of knowing they’ve saved a young girl from a sad life on a hot, lonely planet.”

Solo scoffed, but the Wookiee seemed softened and held out a hand to Mena. The pilot looked wearily at the girl and his copilot, then sighed in defeat.

“Docking bay 94. Keep up. And don’t make me regret this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was our first chapter, our “pilot” if you will. Thank you for reading, let me know what you think in the comments! I’ll be updating regularly if wanted. 
> 
> May the force be with you,  
Meg


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mena boards the Falcon and leaves the planet she hates, but she and her new crewmates encounter some trouble along the way.

“So, what brings you back to Mos Eisley?” Mena asked, jogging to keep up with the tall pilot and the even taller Wookiee.

“Business trip,” Solo responded, offering no further explanation.

“What’s your trade?” Mena inquired. “I don’t usually see you playing shuttle driver for farmers.”

“Transport, kid. Why all the questions?”

“Just trying to get to know the man I’m trusting to fly me to Alderaan.”

“A terrible man to trust, really.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“_SOLO!_”__

_ __ _

_ __ _

The deep shout of a stranger from within the docking bay interrupted their conversation.

Solo and the Wookiee paused, peering around the doorframe of the docking bay at the half-dozen armed men surrounding a beat up old Corellian freighter. Prominent among them was a large, slug-like creature. A Hutt. His imposing manner and confident air implied him to be the leader of the group, and Mena took him as the man who had shouted for her newly-found pilot.

“Right here, Jabba,” Solo announced, walking towards the group with his head held high. “Been waiting for you.”

The corners of the Hutt’s grotesque, dripping mouth rose in a sickening smile, and he pridefully shouted something to Solo in a language that Mena could not understand.

“You didn’t think I was gonna run, did you?” the pilot replied, strolling towards this ‘Jabba’ character.

“_Han, ma boogee,_” Jabba began suavely. Mena stepped forward to follow Han, but the Wookiee held her back, shaking his shaggy head.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

The Hutt placed an arm around Solo, guiding him along as they spoke. Mena couldn’t quite understand the conversation, but she took Han’s delivery of a dry compliment as Jabba and his henchmen left the bay as a sign of peace.

The Wookiee purred a question at Solo, and the latter looked up sharply.

“What? He left with no trouble, didn’t he? We’ll pay him after this job and it’ll be back to business as usual,” Solo assured his first mate.

“Transport, huh?” Mena asked, glancing at the two men.

Solo smiled dryly.

“Yeah, kid. Transport. What we carry and who it’s delivered to, I didn’t say,” he said before lowering a ramp and entering the rusted ship.

The ship was... functional. Aesthetically pleasing? No. But functional. Mena ran her hands down the smooth walls of the stark hallway, then reached a homier room with helmets and other gear scattered about. She paused above a checkered game board, remembering the fights and blaster fire that had ensued over games like that one back at the cantina.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a young voice, shouting, “What a piece of junk!”

Mena approached the entrance of the ship as Han lectured the offending figure. Looking past the tall pilot, she caught sight of the blond boy from the cantina. With him was the old man, and both seemed doubtful of the ship’s capabilities.

“I trust her,” Mena piped up from behind Han, drawing the attention of the two newcomers. “The ship, I mean.”

“Don’t you work in the city?” the blonde boy asked, eyebrows raised. “What are you doing on a freighter?”

“This is our new helping hand for the trip, er-” Han paused.

“Mena,” she supplied.

“Mena. She’ll be keeping an eye on the ship and disembarking along with the two of you and your droids when we reach Alderaan,” Solo said.

Mena took a look at the two droids. The first, a gold humanoid unit, was glancing about the docking bay, clearly unimpressed by its surroundings. The other, a blue and white astromech, was whirring excitedly and nudging the other droid forward towards the ship.

The two men accompanying the droids still had their eyes on Mena, the older man amused, the younger man confused. The latter opened his mouth to ask another question, but Solo interjected.

“There’ll be time to get to know each other later, but we’re a little rushed, so if you’ll hurry aboard we’ll get out of here.”

The boy shrugged, then followed the Wookiee up the ramp with his companions.

Mena smiled at the guests as they passed her and boarded the ship, but their introductions were halted by a cry of “Stop that ship!” followed by the sharp ring of blaster fire. Mena’s head snapped towards the door just as Solo ran inside and slammed the entrance shut, shouting to the Wookiee who had strapped himself into the copilot’s chair.

“Chewie, get us out of here!” Han shouted as he ran towards the cockpit, quickly followed by Mena. She stood behind the pilots and watched as the docking bay fell farther and farther away, finally disappearing into the orange surface of Tattoine. Mena stared as the planet that had been her home -no, her prison- for so long faded into space. Her wonder at her newfound freedom, however, was cut short by a flash of light just outside the cockpit window.

“Here’s where the fun begins!” Han exclaimed gleefully as the two passengers stared nervously out the window.

“How long before you can make the jump to hyperspace?” the old man asked, eyeing an Imperial cruiser that had followed the creaky ship out of Mos Eisley.

“It’ll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the navi-computer,” Han replied, deftly pressing the flashing buttons that covered the cockpit.

“Are you kidding?” the boy cried, rocking with the battered ship. “At the rate they’re gaining-” 

“Traveling through hyperspace isn’t like dusting crops, boy!” Han interrupted. “Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova, and that’d end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?”

The boy‘s eyes fixated on a glaring spot on the controls.

“What’s that flashing?” he asked anxiously.

“We’re losing our deflector shield,” Solo replied. “Go strap yourselves in, I’m going to make the jump to light speed.”

Mena, the old man, and the boy scurried to secure themselves as Solo reached for a lever on the dashboard. Mena strapped in and looked up in awe as Solo pulled down the level with exhilaration. The ship was soaring past stars, moving so quickly that light became brilliant rods of snowy white just outside the cockpit window. The vast expanse of space was flying by, and Mena was free.


	3. The Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Occurrences between the crew, new and old, and passengers of the Falcon as they approach Alderaan.

Space travel was like nothing Mena had imagined. Sure, she’d done odd jobs fixing up ships before, but soaring past atmospheres was entirely new. Flying at the speed of light wasn’t as rocky as their exit from the planet’s surface, but it still made her stomach churn. The vision of the copper colored planet fading away into space had been beautiful, as were the shining streams of light that began to soar past the windows. But the picturesque sights of the voyage didn’t abate her headache from the constant motion and flashing controls. Tearing her eyes away from the passing stars, Mena raised herself from her chair, swaying slightly as she approached the common area that had held the game board. Hopefully the old ship had something to cure nausea onboard. 

“Stretch out with your feelings,” the old man called to the boy as Mena reached the room, eventually leaning against the doorframe. 

The Wookiee was engaged in a game of holochess against the R2 unit that the two passengers had brought onboard. The protocol droid that accompanied the small astromech unit was engrossed in the game, babbling excitedly with advice for his counterpart. Solo sat across the room, eyeing the increasingly annoyed Wookiee who seemed close to rage over the holochess. Mena crossed to the game table and placed a gentle hand on the Wookiee’s shoulder. He jolted and growled, causing Mena to jump back in fear. 

“Calm down, Chewie.” Han called from across the room. “It’s just your new friend.” 

The Wookiee, Chewie, apparently, looked back at Mena and purred an apology. Mena nodded, though her heart was still racing. Chewie seemed to sense her unease and made room for her at the holochess table. She smiled at the welcoming gesture and slowly sat down, looking over the game board. She thought it better however, to let Chewie handle the game himself, and diverted her attention to the two passengers. 

The kid was standing with his back to Mena, wearing a helmet. He held a glowing sword high, prepared to strike. A small seeker droid was hovering a few feet in front of him, whirring and humming as it prepared to attack. The training bot suddenly shot a red laser beam at the boy, but he blocked the sharp blast with his shining weapon. The seeker, following this defeat, shut down. 

“You see, you _can_ do it,” the old man said with a smile. __

_ _As the boy turned to thank his mentor, Mena realized that his eyes were blocked by the helmet’s blast shield. _ _

_ _“You had that on the whole time?” Mena asked, staring at the boy and straightening up. _ _

_ _He nodded, grinning. She kept staring, gazing at the opaque helmet. _ _

_ _“But how did-”_ _

_ _“I call it luck,” Solo interrupted her. _ _

_ _The old man smiled knowingly at the pilot. _ _

_ _“In my experience, there’s no such thing as luck.” __

_ _

_ _ Han rolled his eyes. _ _

_ _

_ _ “Look, going good against remotes is one thing. Going good against the living? That’s something else.” _ _

_ _

_ _ “I’d say it’s pretty impressive, Han,” Mena butted in. The boy smiled, appreciative of the compliment. _ _

_ _

_ _ “Don’t mind him, kid.” Mena told the boy. “He’s probably just jealous because he’s not the only man on board who can fight.” _ _

_ _

_ _ The young man laughed as Solo scoffed. _ _

_ _

_ _ “Hey, new girl. Don’t get so smart on me, I’m doing you a favor,” Han said, offended. _ _

_ _

__ A sudden mechanical beeping interrupted Solo’s defensive remarks. _ _

_ _“Looks like we’re coming up on Alderaan,” he said before pushing himself up from his chair and strolling to the hallway that led to the cockpit. The Wookiee rose to follow his copilot with Mena trailing close behind, leaving the boy and his mentor to their lessons. _ _

_ _“The old man’s some character, huh kid?” Solo asked Mena, adjusting the subspace radio on the wall of the cockpit. _ _

_ _“You could say that,” Mena replied, considering the odd lesson she had walked in on just moments before. “Seems harmless though. Did you catch his name?”_ _

_ _“Calls himself Ben Kenobi. The little hotshot back there’s name is Luke.” Han turned to the Wookiee. “Chewie, cut in the sublight engines.”_ _

_ _The Wookiee pulled a lever, and Mena fell forward to the ground as something collided with the ship. Metallic ringing sounded in her ears as the outside of the _Falcon_ was repeatedly struck. She looked through the windshield as a fist-sized, rocky brown object smacked against the Transparisteel. _ _ __

__

__

_ _“What the-” Solo murmured as Mena scrambled to her feet. He frantically adjusted the ship’s controls as the Wookiee cried out. _ _

_ _“What’s happening?” Mena asked, hurrying to the shield status display. _ _

_ _“We’ve come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower, some kinda asteroid collision,” the pilot responded, adjusting the shield controls. “It’s not on any of the charts.”_ _

_ _Luke and Kenobi burst into the cockpit. _ _

_ _“What’s going on?” cried Luke. _ _

_ _“Our position’s correct, except,” Han hesitated. “No Alderaan.”_ _

_ _“What do you mean, where is it?”_ _

_ _“That’s what I’m trying to tell ya, kid, it ain’t there,” Solo said. Mena’s heart dropped into her churning stomach, and she went numb. “It’s been totally blown away.”_ _

_ _“What?! How?” replied Luke, shocked. _ _

_ _“Destroyed, by the Empire,” Kenobi interjected solemnly. _ _

_ _Han whipped his head towards the old man as Mena gazed at the remains of the former planet. _ _

_ _“The entire star fleet couldn’t destroy the whole planet, it’d take a thousand ships with more firepower than I’ve-” he froze, eyes locked on the display monitor. “There’s another ship comin’ in.”_ _

_ _Luke glanced around the flashing controls excitedly, trying to catch a glimpse of the other ship on the monitor. _ _

_ _“Maybe they know what happened!” he said. _ _

_ _“It’s an imperial fighter,” Kenobi replied, counteracting the hopefulness of Luke’s statement. _ _

_ _“It’s followed us!” Luke cried as the small fighter soared over the _Falcon_, buffeted by the occasional chunk of rubble. _ _ __

__

__

_ _“No, it’s a short range fighter,” said Kenobi. _ _

_ _“There aren’t any bases around here, where’d it come from?” said Han, brow furrowed as he hunched over the controls. _ _

_ _“It sure is leaving in a big hurry. If they identify us we’re in big trouble!” Luke shot at Han. _ _

_ _“Not if I can help it,” replied the stoic pilot. “Chewie, jam its transmissions. Mena, lock us in.”_ _

_ _Mena attempted to shake out of her daze as she turned to the main display monitor and began to focus the ship’s tracking module on the distant fighter. It seemed that being a part of this crew would be exciting, if nothing else. _ _

_ _“You’d be as well to let it go, it’s too far out of range,” said Kenobi. _ _

_ _“Not for long.” Solo yanked down the auxiliary power lever. _ _

_ _Kenobi turned his head, staring, puzzled, at the ship ahead of the Falcon. _ _

_ _“A fighter that size couldn’t get this deep into space on its own,” he murmured. _ _

_ _“He must have gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something,” Luke offered to his mentor. _ _

_ _“Well he ain’t gonna be around long enough to tell anybody about us,” Han announced grimly. _ _

_ _Mena adjusted the tracking controls as the farm boy stayed fixated on the small ship. _ _

_ _“Look at him, he’s heading for that small moon,” Luke said, gesturing to a gray orb ahead of the two ships. _ _

_ _“I think I can get him before he gets there, he’s almost in range,” Han said. Mena turned to approach the laser cannons but was stopped by a chilling voice from behind her. _ _

_ _“That’s no moon,” said Kenobi, frozen, gazing past the windshield. _ _

_ _“It’s a space station.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Let me know what you think of this work, and may the force be with you! 
> 
> \- Meg


End file.
